Four Alumni Appointed to WM Board

By Amber Lester Kennedy Monday, July 04, 2011

Governor Bob McDonnell appointed four alumni to the College of William and Mary’s Board of Visitors on Friday.

Alumni Thomas Frantz, Leigh Pence, Peter Snyder and Todd Stottlemyer will replace spots left by John Gerdelman, Kathy Hornsby, Anita Poston and Henry Wolf. Wolf and Gerdelman served as the most recent rector and vice-rector of the board.

The board appointments are four-year terms and began on July 1.

Thomas Frantz, a resident of Virginia Beach, graduated from the college with three degrees. He earned a bachelor’s degree in economics in 1970, a master’s degree in law and taxation in 1973 and a juris doctor from the Law School in 1981. He is chief executive officer of Williams Mullen, an international law firm.

He has been listed in “The Best Lawyers in America” for each of its 25 years in publication and was named Best Lawyers’ 2011 Norfolk Area Corporate Lawyer of the Year. He has served on numerous boards, including Eastern Virginia Medical School, the Virginia Aquarium, Hampton Roads Partnership and the Hampton Roads Sports Facility Authority.

In 2009, Frantz was the recipient of W&M’s 2009 Citizen Lawyer Award. He serves as an advisor to William and Mary’s Business Law Review and is a member of the board at the Mason School of Business.

Leigh Pence earned a bachelor’s degree in accounting of the School of Business in 2000. She is the owner of Shape & Play, a fitness and exercise business that caters to the parents of young children.

She previously worked as an auditor for Price Waterhouse Coopers and for Freddie Mac. After becoming a stay-at-home mom, she earned certification as a fitness instructor. She’s always been athletic, having played organized lacrosse at the college. She now lives in Great Falls, where she volunteers with the Children’s Support Group and the Fairfax County Victim Assistance Network.

Peter Snyder received his bachelor’s degree in government from the college. He was a member of the Tribe wrestling team, served as junior and senior class president and received the Ewell Award in 1994. Five years later, he founded New Media Strategies, an industry pioneer in social media marketing and online intelligence, in Arlington. The business was named one of the “Best Places to Work” by Washingtonian Magazine and Washington Business Journal. Fortune Small Business named Snyder the “2006 Best Boss” and Washingtonian called him one of the “Top 100 Tech Titans.” He has also appeared as a commentator on Fox News.

He served on the marketing board of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the board of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation and the Board of Trustees of Cushing Academy.

Todd Stottlemyer, a resident of Herndon, graduated Phi Beta Kappa with a bachelor’s degree in government in 1985. He earned a law degree from Georgetown University in 1991 before going on to a career in the technology sector.

He has held posts serving as president, chief executive officer, chief financial officer and is a former business owner. He served three years as president and chief executive officer of the National Federation of Independent Business and is currently chief executive officer of Interactive Technology Solutions (ITSolutions), a management and information technology company.

Stottlemyer, a former Tribe offensive lineman, has returned to campus several times to give guest lectures on entrepreneurship. He currently serves on the Board of Advisors for William and Mary’s Thomas Jefferson Program in Public Policy and the Athletic Educational Foundation, and is a former member of the William & Mary Washington Council and the Foundation Board. He has also served as chairman of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce and has held positions on three state commissions.